


Not a Honeymoon

by WhatCopters



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: F/F, Mild Spoilers, Spoilers for Sacred Stones, mild depictions of violence, the only people who officially appear are marisa and tethys, the others are just mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-06 14:11:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11037804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatCopters/pseuds/WhatCopters
Summary: Marisa wasn't exactly sure how she had got into this mess, but here she was and now she had to find a way out of it the only way she knew how. Using violence. And definitely not her feelings.





	1. Marisa doesn't understand feelings

**Author's Note:**

> This is kind of a pseudo-sequel to "For Now" insofar as it's set in the same canon. It's not necessary to read that in order to understand this, but it might help.

This was not a holiday.

Marisa wasn't sure quite what this was, but it definitely wasn't your average holiday. At least, she didn't think it was. It was her impression that they generally didn't involve fighting bandits, not that she really knew.

If she was honest, she didn't really plan for this at all. She had intended to stay as part of Gerik's mercenaries, but it quickly became clear that Gerik's group was no longer going to exist after the defeat of the Demon King. Saleh was preoccupied dealing with Myrrh and Ewan was planning to go back to Caer Pelyn with him and any chance of the group staying together was dashed once Tethys expressed interest in travelling the continent. Something about dances. Marisa wasn't really sure. All she knew was that there was no way she, or anyone else, would be able to convince Tethys not to go, which left her with only one real option.

Go with her.

Marisa knew that was perhaps foolish of her; it wasn't like her to be so sentimental like this, but she knew that letting Tethys go off into the world alone was even more foolish. Tethys was a dancer, not a fighter. If she was beset upon by bandits or thieves, she wouldn't be able to properly defend herself and Marisa wasn't going to take the chance of that happening.

Not anymore.

Soon after setting out together, Tethys had made the stunning realisation that she hadn't really got much money to sustain the two of them. Dancing paid just enough for her, but for the two of them? Yeah, there really wasn't enough of a market for it to pay for a double room at an inn.

That was how the two of them had ended up raiding a pirate's fort in Jehanna only a few weeks after starting their grand adventure. Supposedly, this group of pirates was terrorising the seas around Magvel which was making it difficult for the merchants in Carcino to make any profit. Marisa had been hired to deal with the problem because she'd heard the job would pay a pretty penny and would hopefully be enough to tide them over for their travels. 

Sure, it would be tough. She'd been teaching Tethys the basics of sword fighting, but she was still a beginner and Marisa was still just one woman and the two of them were supposed to infiltrate this 'pirate capital' as it had been called.

Despite the improbability of victory, Marisa was still confident.

The plan had been to sneak into the pirate's hideout and assassinate the leader, a man named Grieth. The panic made by the disappearance of their leader should make it easy for Jehanna's army to raid the place and take out the remaining brigands.

The two of them were perfect for the job in all honesty. Tethys' dancing and Marisa's fighting style made the both of them swift on their feet, so it was easy to slip past the guards. Unfortunately, now they had made it into the complex, finding their way around it was a different matter entirely.

Complex was definitely the right word. It seems that the pirates really didn't want anyone to infiltrate this place. At all. In fact, Marisa wondered how the pirates knew how to navigate their own hideout with how complicated it was.

"Marisa...?"

Tethys' concerned voice snapped her out her trance. Tethys pointed toward the corner in the direction of approaching footsteps. That was enough reminiscing. Now they had to act.

Marisa readied her sword stance as quietly as she could muster in order to properly ambush the enemy heading their way and she saw Tethys do the same.

"Stay back. I'll take care of this," Marisa whispered to her battle partner.

Tethys relaxed, albeit somewhat reluctantly, and took up a more defensive stance in case she had to back Marisa up.

The moment their enemy turned the corner, Marisa launched herself at the pirate, taking him out with single slash to the chest before he could react.

"Let's go."

"My, you're more talented than usual."

"...let's go."

Marisa wasn't having any of Tethys' teasing. At least not right now. This really wasn't the time.

"I'll be honest, this isn't what I had in mind when I decided to travel the world. I envisioned something... more grand."

"Welcome to the mercenary world." 

Marisa really wasn't having any of it.

" I'll have you know I'm well aware of these things already, so there's no need for you to be so rude about things. Besides, you're the one who decided to tag along with me, so I fail to understand why you're being so cold."

The two of them had reached the end of the current hallway which now split off into two paths.

"We're in the middle of a mission," Marisa quipped back sharply.

"That hasn't stopped anyone before."

Could she not take a hint?

"...and your point is what exactly?"

"I thought that we were friends, Marisa. And I was under the assumption that this meant you'd open up a bit more."

"Well, you thought wrong. I'm sorry to disappoint, but I'm not like Gerik."

"I'm not expecting you to be, it's just-" Tethys paused. "What did you just say?"

"I said I'm not Gerik," she repeated.

"What does that have to do with anything? Of course you're not like Gerik, you never could be."

"...is it like that then?" Marisa was beginning to get fed up. Why had she left with her in the first place again?

"W-what?! No, that's not what I meant! All I meant was that the two of you are different people and that-"

"I'd hardly say that matters," Marisa interrupted bluntly.

A sharp and palpable silence endured few several long seconds.

"Marisa, I-"

"Eh?!" An unfamiliar deep voice penetrated the conversation.

Crap.

"Boys sound the alarm, we've got-"

Marisa launched herself at the bandit that had appeared in front of them, striking him down with a single slash.

It seems their incessant bickering had gathered the attention of the pirates. Faint voices could be heard in the distance, presumably heading this way. 

"Oi, yeah it was coming from over 'ere!"

"Let's move," Tethys sighed.

Finally something Marisa could get behind. The two dashed off backwards down the hallway, swords in hand.


	2. Tethys tries fighting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we go! Chapter 2. This one's from Tethys' perspective. Hope you enjoy!

Tethys felt bad for letting Marisa do all the work. Granted, she wasn't used to being a fighter, so naturally you'd expect that to be the case, but Tethys was itching to put all her practice to the test. Instead what was happening was that Marisa was always several steps in front of her taking out the enemies before she even got a chance.

She supposed it was quite charming really. Hmm, charming... That was one way to describe Marisa alright. The way that she was always so focused on her mission. The way she stepped up to the mark whenever someone was in trouble. She'd never admit it, but she had a soft heart deep down. Tethys knew she was a sweetheart.

Ha! Now she was just getting distracted. 

It must be the thrill of the chase, she thought.

Indeed, the mission had almost been compromised when their earlier disagreement had ended by drawing the attention of the pirates. Since then, it had been constant movement without end, dashing from corridor to corridor, evading enemies in the giant maze in the desert. 

Tethys supposed Ewan would love it if he was here. She hoped he wasn't too lonely. She knew he admired Saleh, but he wasn't exactly the best company.

The more she thought about it, maybe this grand trip hadn't been such a good idea.

...

Now she was getting distracted again.

She looked over at Marisa. She was clearly focused. A lot more focused than Tethys was at the moment, anyway.

"Any idea where we're going?" She asked.

"Nope."

As blunt as ever. That was always something Tethys appreciated about her. You knew where you stood with her, in as few words as possible.

Though, it had its issues as well.

...

Now really was not the time to get lost in thought. She had to focus. They were running for their lives and had a job to do.

After a few more minutes of running, they reached a large open room. It reminded Tethys of the arenas they had so frequently visited on their travels as part of the Renais liberation effort. The lack of a room made the heat from the desert sun feel that much more oppressive. The set of stairs leading upwards on the opposite side of the ring was their goal.

But as they approached, an imposing figure came down to greet them.

"Well, well, well, lookie 'ere!"

That was him. She'd never seen him before, but just one look was all she needed. Tethys knew that this was the so-called Pirate King: Grieth.

"Gonna be reeeal honest with you ladies, I'm a bit s'prised a pair o' lasses like you could get into somewhere like this!"

Grieth outstretched his arms, attempting to extenuate the grandeur of his hideout.

"The decoration could use some work," Marisa replied, as deadpan as usual.

Tethys had to hold back her laughter at that.

"Eh? A real cheeky one you are. I dunno why you ladies are 'ere," Grieth said, readying his axe, "but I don't takes kindly to uninvited guests. Boys!"

A group of pirates appeared from both behind Grieth and behind them. They were completely surrounded.

"Now I'm gonna make you an offer," Grieth dramatically turned around, "you can either surrender yerselves 'n tell me why yer 'ere or I can-"

"GARGH!"

Grieth's dramatic speech had been fortunately cut short by Marisa striking the nearest pirate.

That was one less they had to deal with.

"Ohoho, so it's gonna be like that, 'ey? Very well."

"Stay close," Marisa warned.

Tethys was admittedly nervous as the pirate gang began to circle around them. This was really her first real fight, putting all of her training to the test.

There was much time to think about that, as the first pirate leapt towards her.

She swiftly stepped to the side, dodging the attack, which unfortunately put her in the firing line for a strike from another brigand's axe. Bracing herself for the blow, she got into a defensive position to block the attack with her sword as the brigand brought his axe down upon her.

She wasn't successful. The impact of it flung her backwards onto the floor knocking her sword out of her hand.

Marisa, on the other hand, was fairing much better. She had headed straight for Grieth himself and, although imposing at first, his large stature made him a slow target for someone like Marisa. It was easy pickings really, even with several other pirates getting in her way and otherwise harassing her.

Tethys, having been knocked clean to the ground, was still attempting to recover from the shock as several pirates began to close in on her. She quickly regained awareness just before one of the brigands brought down his axe upon her, rolling out of the way towards the sword on the ground next to her, thereby dodging the attack. Having narrowly escaped death once again, she stumbled to her feet, picked up her sword and ran to an empty corner of the arena to give herself some time to assess the situation. 

In front of her were the three brigands who had appeared behind them and were currently targeting her. Marisa was closer to northern part of the arena near the stairs and was taking on Grieth and his two flunkies. Realising she'd have to deal with these three herself, Tethys steeled herself and waited for her chance to strike, taking note of the three bandits in front of her. One of them had a scar across his eye; another was wearing an eye patch and the third wore a bandana.

Scar ran towards her and attempted to swing his axe across at her. Ducking, Tethys was easily able to dodge the sloppy attack and she struck back with a stab upwards towards his chest. At such a close range from beneath him, the strike easily took him down.

Standing up straight again, she noticed Bandana and Eyepatch looking quite perturbed, but not deterred. Bandana proved to be mildly more competent, striking at her in a similar way to Scar, but leaving enough room to dodge her next attack. She was going to have to come up with a better plan.

Tethys leapt to the side and sliced at her enemy's torso. The cut wasn't deep, but it was enough to startle Bandana, which gave her a chance to get behind him and strike at his back.

Alright, two down! That left-

*Clang!*

"Marisa?!"

Eyepatch had attempted to catch her off guard, but luckily Marisa had stepped in to block the attack and deal with him for her. Tethys looked around the ring.

Grieth was heavily wounded and the rest of the pirates had been taken care of thanks to their efforts.

"Eh... you ladies... are better 'an you look."

Marisa walked back over to Grieth and readied her sword for one final strike.

"Your empire is over."

And that was that.

With their job finished, Tethys and Marisa headed up the stairs. At the top was a large room that resembled a primitive throne room.

"Is this all the treasure they stole...?" Tethys asked.

"Probably. We should get back. Let Jehanna know we finished the job. They'll handle the rest." Marisa headed out of the room at that.

Tethys grabbed her wrist as she left.

"We need to talk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it. I've got one more chapter planned to wrap things up.


	3. The End of a Mission

Marisa sat in the now empty throne room of the pirate's fortress. A table and set of chairs were off to the side, which is where she and Tethys were sitting now. Clearly, interior design had not been one of Grieth's strengths.

Just as conversation wasn't hers.

An awkward silence hung in the air. The two had agreed to inform Jehanna of Grieth's death by sending a messenger bird they had at their camp just outside the pirate capital. At this point, they weren't particularly sure that there were any pirates left, but it had been part of the agreed plan. After that, they had backtracked back into the stronghold just in case. It was at that point that Marisa couldn't escape Tethys' proposal any longer. If you could even call it that.

"Something's bothering you." Tethys' voice cut through the silence in the room like a knife.

Marisa didn't reply.

"Why did you decide to come with me? It was such a last minute decision I made, so for you..." Tethys trailed off into the silence.

Marisa wasn't sure she could answer even if she tried. Because even she didn't know. Not really.

Why had she tagged along with Tethys? It was so unlike her to get attached like this, but she supposed it was because Tethys would have been all alone and unable to defend herself.

But why care?

That question constantly flashed through Marisa's mind. Why did she care so much? What was it about Tethys that had made her choose running off with her as opposed to staying by Gerik's side?

That was something Marisa just couldn't figure out. Despite all the problems they had faced, all the frustration, Marisa just couldn't feel angry with Tethys.

She didn't understand it.

"... It was dangerous to let you go off alone." This time it was Marisa's turn to break the silence.

"So you decided to go with me to make sure I was safe? And you didn't charge me for it, either!" Tethys gave one of her trademark winks. "I didn't think you could be so sweet."

Marisa didn't respond. All she could was blush.

"Well, for what it's worth," Tethys grabbed her hand, "I'm glad you're here with me. And not just because I would never have beaten those pirates alone."

Marisa watched as Tethys slowly moved closer to her. It was only when Tethys leaned in for a kiss that everything seemed to make sense.

Why she had left. 

Why she was here now.

And what she would do for this woman.

It was stronger than how she had once felt for Gerik.

Their contact lingered for a while and, when Tethys pulled away, she moved to rest her head on Marisa's chest.

"Can I call this a honeymoon, then?" Tethys asked, comfortably listening to Marisa's breathing.

"Not a chance."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, uh, sorry this took a while. And sorry if it's a little short. To be honest, I didn't really know where else to go with this, but I'm still proud of the work as a whole nonetheless!  
> Thanks for reading (and waiting) and I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
